School of Engineering

P12 Export Documents

School of

Engineering

• Types of Export Documentation for Air

Freight and Sea Freight

• Commonly Used Terms in Export

Documentation

• Bill of Lading

• Air Waybill

• Export License/Declaration

• Commercial Invoice

• Packing List

• Certificate of Origin

E216 Distribution

&Transportation

Main Phases of International Purchase

Seller Buyer

Sale Performance Logistics Settlement

• The Sale phase consists of finding the buyer and/or seller leading to a

Purchase Order

• The Performance phase involves the manufacturing and staging of the

goods ready for shipment

• The Logistics phase involves moving the goods from the exporting to the

importing country

• The Settlement phase involves the exchange of title for the goods from

the seller to the buyer

The Importance of Documentation

• Documentation is a vital component in

transportation and distribution, as they

Ensure all arrangements are taken care of, from

determining how the goods are to be packed and

transported, to collection of cargo at the place of

receipt, right through to the safe arrival at the place

of delivery

Act as a safety net for the consignor, carrier and

consignee in terms of liabilities

Common Sea Freight Export Documents

• Bill of Lading (B/L)

• Sea Waybill (SWB)

• Commercial Invoice

• Packing List

• Export License and Declaration

• Certificate of Origin (COO)

Commercial Invoice

A commercial invoice is the bill that the exporter or consignor sends to the importer or consignee

Invoice contains: • Marks (e.g. handle with care, fragile, etc)

• Number of packages

• Description of merchandise

• Vessel name

• Name and address of consignee

• Total price of shipment

• Incoterms (e.g. CIF, FOB, etc)

• Terms of payment (L/C, payment on delivery, etc…)

Other Documents

• Packing List

Contains the contents of each package/cartons

• Export License and Declaration

Prepared by exporter to customs officials to collection of statistical

data and control over exports

• Certifications

Certificates of Origin – certifying the place of origin or merchandise

Health certificates, etc – for food products and chemicals

Insurance coverage throughout the journey of the shipment that

may be over and above what is stipulated in the BL

• Consular invoice/special customs invoice

Obtained by exporter from governmental representative of the

importer’s country

Used to calculate the duty to be levied

Bill of Lading (B/L)

• Main document used in international maritime

transport

• Establishes the terms of contract between a

shipper and a transportation company

• Serves as a

• Document of title (title of ownership) – defines

holder of document as owner of goods

• Contract of carriage – evidence of transport

agreement

• Confirmation of shipment – receipt of handover

cargo

Sample of Bill of Lading (B/L)

Common Types of B/L

• Combined Transport B/L – carrier responsibility

starts from the point of charge of the goods at the

place of receipt until the time of delivery at the

destination regardless of the mode of transport

(sea, rail, truck) and whether or not any part of

transport has been sub-contracted to a third party

• Port to Port B/L – carrier responsibility starts from

the time at which charge is taken of goods at the

Port of Loading up until the time of which the

goods are delivered at the Port of Discharge

Common Types of B/L

• House (Forwarder) B/L – issued by a forwarder to a

consignor as a receipt of goods. It has similar legal

standing as carrier’s B/L

• Non-negotiable B/L

English Law: the B/L must be surrendered in

exchange of goods

US Law: permits the release of cargo to a named

consignee who can identify himself, even if he

cannot produce the B/L

• Memo B/L – when a principal carrier (who issues B/L)

subcontracts the ocean transportation to another line,

then this second line must issue a Memo B/L back to

the principal carrier

Common Types of B/L

• Sea Waybill

• Similar to a B/L, but it is not a document of title and is non-

negotiable.

• Can be forwarded as an electronic file using EDI, or as a

printed document, unlike a B/L, which always come in the

form of printed document

• Often used for international shipment of personal effect.

• In US, Sea Waybill is also called Straight B/L.

Commonly Used Terms

• Consignor/shipper – an individual or a

business that purchases transportation

services for their goods.

• Carriers – company that transports goods

from shipper to consignee.

• Consignee – to whom the cargo is being

shipped, and is officially the legal owner of

the cargo.

• Notify party – a party to be informed or

notified of the arrival of the goods at the

destination port or at the place of delivery.

Special Terms Used in B/L

• Said to Contain (STC)

• Said to Weight (STW)

• Shipper’s Load Stow and Count

• These terms are used to acknowledge

the carrier receipt of the cargo without

awareness of the exact nature, quantity,

weight, and/or value of the content

Airway Bill (AWB)

• Purpose similar to that of B/L, but used in

airfreight

• Provides all the information the air carrier

needs

specifies name/address of the

consignor/consignee

routing instructions for the carrier.

describes the commodities

number of items in each commodity description

• Non-negotiable

Airway Bill (AWB)

Contract of carriage between the shipper and the

carrier of the goods

Proof of receipt of cargo for carriage

As a freight bill

As a certificate of insurance

For customs declaration and clearance

Documentary evidence of all shipment details and

information guide to handling of goods

Documentary proof of the value for carriage as

declared by the shipper

Airway Bill (AWB)

• A Master Airway Bill (MAWB) is issued by carrier

to freight forwarder consolidating consignments of

several different shippers for the same airport of

destination. A cargo manifest detailing such

consignments is attached to the MAWB

• The freight forwarder in turn issues to each

shipper its own AWB, known as a house airway bill

(HAWB)

• For air freight using a house air waybill (HAWB),

the freight forwarder's handling agent at

destination notifies the consignee of the cargo

arrival at destination

Sample of MAWB

Sample of HAWB

Limitations of Carrier Liability

• Usually, carrier liable for all loss,

damage, or delay (limited to certain

value) to the goods except the following: Act of God

Act of public enemy

Act of shipper

Act of public authority

Inherent nature of goods

Today’s Problem

• The documents required would

include the following:

• Bill of Lading

• Commercial Invoice

• Packing List

• Certificate of Origin

• Export documents must be checked thoroughly

before moving the shipments. The information must

be correct

• Among all export documents, the most common ones

are:

• Commercial invoice

• Packing List

• Country of Origin

• Bill of Lading / Air Waybill

• Completed B/L (see excel)

Today’s Problem

Learning Outcome

• Types of Export Documentation for Air Freight

and Sea Freight

• Commercial Invoice

• Packing List

• Certificate of Origin

• Bill of Lading / Air Waybill

• Export License/Declaration

• Commonly Used Terms in Export

Documentation